Yiwu Customs House in China has successfully implemented the one-day release of e-commerce shipments following the upgrade of its service platform, reported the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC).
According to statistics from Yiwu Customs House, an affiliate of the Hangzhou Customs District, the Yiwu Cross-Border E-Commerce Control Center has released by August 6 more than 6 million outbound parcels worth US$28.78 million using the new platform launched last May.
To cope with the fast-growing volume of shipments for clearance, the Yiwu Customs House upgraded its service platform system based on the innovative mode “Release by List, Declaration in Summary.” Under this system that also underscores group-based operations and a flexible schedule, e-commerce-based exports are expected to be released within 24 hours.
Through this system, said the report, the customs agency has managed to increase its processing capacity from 2,000 consignments per hour to 10,000 consignments per hour.
“Since May, this Center has achieved average daily clearance of more than 50,000 consignments as a solid foundation for the Yiwu International Mail Exchange which will be set up soon,” added the report.
Since December 26, 2014, some 457 firms engaged in e-commerce have registered with the Yiwu Cross-Border E-Commerce Control Center. Their parcels are outbound for 145 countries and regions including the U.S., Russia, Brazil, France, and Spain. The bulk of the commodities consist of iron imitation jewelry, cotton dresses, and plastic crafts.
Airport Customs’ e-commerce pilot service
Meanwhile, the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport Customs House, affiliated with Shanghai Customs District, has begun a pilot service to facilitate the processing of shipments from abroad that arrive via e-commerce, with the first import consignment successfully released on August 12.
The consignment was composed of 83.3 kilograms of cosmetics and foodstuff airlifted from Taiwan. The Customs House received on that day the declaration data and finished the clearance formalities without a hitch, marking the formal opening of the cross-border e-commerce service for direct mails at Hongqiao Aiport, said the GACC report.
To facilitate such direct mails from abroad, Shanghai Customs District has rolled out many measures under the new service, including a special low-risk fast-track approach that can receive pre-declarations of directly mailed imports and can provide real-time inspection and release.
As a next step, Shanghai Customs District will explore a mode of control for the return and replacement of cross-border e-commerce imports.
Photo: Fosforix
